The document discusses the necessity for standardized measurement in social media to enhance transparency and comparability across various platforms and organizations. It emphasizes the need for a common language and reliable metrics to help clients justify and expand their investment in social media strategies. Key focuses include content sourcing, engagement metrics, and defining influence within a multi-dimensional framework, with ongoing collaboration among industry stakeholders to develop and refine these standards.

2. The March to Standards
#SMMStandards Progress and Roadmap
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

3. Tim Marklein
Practice Leader, Technology & Analytics, W2O Group
Chair, #SMMStandards Coalition

4. Katie Paine
CEO & Founder, KDPaine & Partners
Organizer, #SMMStandards Conclave

5. The Need for Standards
§ Social media has moved well beyond experimentation phase
§ Chasing fans and followers is insufficient
§ Clients need to justify/maintain/expand investment
§ Marketplace is demanding standards
§ Common language for clients, agencies and research firms
§ Unify perspective/metrics across communications disciplines
§ Accelerate shift from low-level counting to higher-level value
§ Enable comparison across programs/brands/organizations
§ Increase reliability of data and methods
§ Foster competition based on insights not “black boxes”
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

6. In Client’s Words
§ Global food and beverage company
§ … create a standard measurement system for use across all
programs and campaigns to deliver consistent, comparable data ….
Ideally the company would look to the industry for establishing
these standards and will follow industry guidelines when refining
and expanding their new measurement system, particularly in the
area of social media.
§ Major automotive company
§ … develop our standard corporate approach to measuring programs
so that all internal and external partners know how we are measuring
… We can't afford the dueling banjos of measurement anymore
… We need to develop a position on these standard definitions and
metrics now or be left behind.
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

7. “If everyone is moving
forward together, then
success takes care of
itself.”
-- Henry Ford
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

8. What Is a Standard?
§ A published specification that:
§ establishes a common language;
§ contains a technical specification or other precise criteria;
§ is designed to be used consistently, as a rule, a guideline,
or a definition.
#SMMStandards Source: British Standards Institute
Retrieved May 28, 2012 from
smmstandards.org http://www.standardsbookshop.com/what.htm

9. Prior Work: Barcelona Principle #6
§ Social media measurement is a discipline, not a tool; but there is no
“single metric”
§ Organizations need clearly defined goals and outcomes for social media
§ Media content analysis should be supplemented by web and search
analytics, sales and CRM data, survey data and other methods
§ Evaluating quality and quantity is critical, just as it is with conventional
media
§ Measurement must focus on “conversation” and “communities” not just
“coverage”
§ Understanding reach and influence is important, but existing sources are
not accessible, transparent or consistent enough to be reliable;
experimentation and testing are key to success
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

10. Prior Work: AMEC Social Media Task Force
Recommendations (London Nov’11)
§ Focus on Outcomes § Influence Rating/Ranking
§ Need to define outcomes and goals in § “Influence” and “authority” are
advance – getting on the social domain-dependent and often client-
bandwagon is good, but evaluation of specific
success is ultimately tied to goals § “Influence” and “popularity” aren’t the
§ Can’t define or manage purely within same
PR/communications silos § Influence is multi-level, online and
§ Outcomes will likely span multiple offline
business goals § Similar to editorial credibility, online
influence is a variable asset
§ Starter Set of KPIs
§ Basic quantitative data (# posts, # § Content Sourcing
views, # fans) easy to measure – § Not all sources are created equal –
useful but not terribly valuable know what you’re getting/not getting
§ Need to get into more quality and § Garbage in, garbage out – critical
context, similar to media analysis challenges for analytics/measurement
§ Fits into “valid metrics” grids from § Industry needs transparency from
post-AVE task force (next slide) vendors on content sourcing, quality
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

11. Progress: Cross-Industry Collaboration
AMEC
Council of PR Firms
“The
Institute for PR
Coalition” The Coalition +
PRSA
IABC
Global Alliance
SNCR
Web Analytics Ass’n
WOMMA
“The
Clients #SMMStandards Conclave”
Dell
Ford
Procter & Gamble
SAS
Southwest Airlines AAAA
Thomson Reuters Media ANA
Ratings
Council IAB
#SMMStandards WOMMA
smmstandards.org Advert. & Media Cos.

12. Coalition for Public Relations
Research Standards
§ Industry-wide initiative to develop standards for public
relations research and measurement
§ Founded by Institute for Public Relations, Council of PR
Firms, Public Relations Society of America, AMEC and
Global Alliance
§ Building on the collaborative approach established by
Barcelona Principles and #SMMStandards efforts

13. Coalition Guidelines for Standards
§ Market-driven
§ Voluntary / non-exclusionary
§ Use International Standards Organization process
§ Broad industry input
§ Promote fair competition
§ Compliant with anti-trust laws
Working
Discussion Interim Approved
Group
Guide Standard Standard
Development

14. Six Initial Priorities for Standardization
1. Content Sourcing & Methods
2. Reach & Impressions
3. Engagement
4. Influence & Relevance
5. Opinion & Advocacy
6. Impact & Value
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

15. Content Sourcing & Methods
Industry Perspective and Guidance
§ Not all content venues, aggregators and analysts are created equal.
Social media measurement success stands or falls on the quality, scope
and methodology of content analyzed, as well as analyst experience.
§ What content is included? How is unit of content defined?
§ Which channels? How deep? How is the data captured?
§ Are multiple languages captured? Via native-language queries?
§ How is the data calculated? What are the formulas?
§ How is irrelevant content from bots, spam blogs and aggregators filtered?
§ Are search methodologies included and search strings disclosed?
§ SOLUTION: All social media measurement reports should include a
standard “content sourcing and methodology” table that helps clients
know “what’s inside” the product for full transparency and easy
comparison (like a food nutrition label).
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

16. Introducing… Interim Standard #1.
Sources & Methods Transparency Table
#SMMStandards – Sources & Methods Transparency Table www.smmstandards.org
Timeframe Analyzed
Research Lead(s)
Channels Analyzed
Data/Content Sources
Analysis Depth ☐ Automated ☐ Manual ☐ Hybrid ☐ All Content Reviewed ☐ Rep. Sample
Source Languages
Search Languages
Sentiment Coding ☐ Automated ☐ Manual ☐ Hybrid ☐ Manual Sampling: _____________________
☐ 3-pt scale ☐ 5-pt scale ☐ Other scale ☐ At entity level ☐ Paragraph/doc level
Spam/Bot Filtering ☐ Automated ☐ Manual ☐ Hybrid ☐ Includes news releases ☐ Excludes releases
Metrics Calculation and Sources
-- Reach
-- Engagement
-- Influence
-- Opinion/Advocacy
Proprietary Methods
Search Parameters See full search string list on page ___ of this report

17. Completed Sample:
Sources & Methods Transparency Table
#SMMStandards – Sources & Methods Transparency Table www.smmstandards.org
Timeframe Analyzed January 1, 2012 – June 30, 2012
Research Lead(s) Richard Bagnall, Gorkana Group
Channels Analyzed Twitter (partial), Facebook (brand pages only), Linkedin, YouTube, blogs, forums
Data/Content Sources Google search, Radian6, Sysomos, BrandWatch, Twitter API, Facebook API, YouTube
Analysis Depth ☐ Automated ☐ Manual þ Hybrid ☐ All Content Reviewed þ Rep. Sample
Source Languages English, German and Mandarin only
Search Languages Native-language queries: English, German, Mandarin
Sentiment Coding ☐ Automated ☐ Manual þ Hybrid þ Manual Sampling: every 50 posts coded
☐ 3-pt scale þ 5-pt scale ☐ Other scale þ At entity level ☐ Paragraph/doc level
Spam/Bot Filtering ☐ Automated ☐ Manual þ Hybrid þ Includes news releases ☐ Excludes releases
Metrics Calculation and Sources
-- Reach Daily unique visitors for specific URLs via Comscore (no multipliers)
-- Engagement Channel-specific metrics direct from channels
-- Influence N/A
-- Opinion/Advocacy Human reading and coding
Proprietary Methods Proprietary index for calculating quality score
Search Parameters See full search string list on page 32 of this report

18. Reach & Impressions
Preliminary Guidance and Next Action
§ Accurate impressions data is hard to source, especially globally
§ Be transparent about sources used and clearly/correctly label charts
§ Definitional confusion across media types and disciplines
§ Impressions; opportunities to see; circulation; reach; frequency; total vs.
targeted reach; visits; visitors; followers; fans; views
§ Multipliers should not be used – in fact, dividers are more appropriate
§ Few of your followers “read” every tweet; only 8-12% see Facebook posts
§ NEXT ACTION: Work with IAB and Media Ratings Council to find
common ground. Publish discussion document in Sept/Oct (PRSA,
AMEC, IPR and Conclave events).
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

19. Engagement
Preliminary Guidance and Next Action
§ Engagement is an action that happens after reach, beyond consumption
§ Engagement could be but is not necessarily an outcome
§ Engagement manifests differently by channel, but typically measurable at
three levels – Low, Medium and High – based on effort required, inclusion
of opinion and how shared with others
§ Low examples = Facebook “likes” and Twitter “follows”
§ Medium examples = blog/video comments and Twitter “retweets”
§ High examples = Facebook shares and original content/video posts
§ Clients prioritize differently, but engagement “levels” are consistent
§ NEXT ACTION: Publish discussion document in Sept/Oct (PRSA, AMEC,
IPR and Conclave events).
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

20. Influence & Relevance
Preliminary Guidance and Next Action
§ Influence is something that takes place beyond engagement
§ “You have been influenced when you have thought something that you
otherwise wouldn’t have thought or done something that you otherwise
wouldn’t have done.” – Philip Sheldrake, “The Business of Influence”
§ Influence is multi-level and multi-dimensional, online and offline
§ Not popularity; not a single score
§ Domain & subject specific – relevance is critical
§ Influencers should be identified and rated using custom criteria via desk
research, not purely on automated algorithms
§ NEXT ACTION: Publish discussion document in Nov/Dec (SNCR and
WOMMA events).
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

21. Opinion & Advocacy
Preliminary Guidance and Next Action
§ Sentiment is over-rated and over-used
§ Not the end-all, be-all qualitative measure – other factors to consider
§ Sentiment reliability varies by vendor and approach – be transparent
§ Opinions, recommendations and other qualitative measures are typically
more valuable than raw sentiment and increasingly measurable:
§ Opinions (“it’s a good product”)
§ Recommendations (“try it” or “avoid it”)
§ Feeling/Emotions (“That product makes me feel happy”)
§ Intended action (“I’m going to buy that product tomorrow”)
§ Coding definitions, consistency and transparency are critical
§ NEXT ACTION: Publish discussion document in Nov/Dec (SNCR and
WOMMA events).
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

22. Impact & Value
Preliminary Guidance and Next Action
§ Impact and value will always be dependent on client objectives
§ Need to define outcomes in advance – will likely span multiple business
goals, especially for social (crosses disciplines)
§ “ROI” should be strictly limited to measurable financial impact; “total
value” can be used for financial and non-financial impact combination
§ Value can be calculated in positive returns (sales, reputation, etc.) or
avoided negative returns (risk mitigated, costs avoided)
§ Key performance indicators and balanced scorecards are helpful to
connect social media impact to business results/language
§ NEXT ACTION: Publish discussion document in early 2013.
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org

23. Progress Recap + Requests
§ Valuable progress between Lisbon and Dublin
§ Coalition, Conclave and others driving cross-industry collaboration
§ Defined initial priorities and roadmap for driving #SMMStandards
§ Unveiled first interim standard for “Content Sourcing & Methods”
§ Preliminary guidance in five other areas, delivery over next year
§ How can you get involved?
§ Track updates via smmstandards.org and Coalition member sites
§ Provide regular feedback on discussion guides, interim standards
§ Use the “Sources & Methods Transparency Table” in all your reports
§ Share #SMMStandards updates with your clients and discuss live
§ Participate in Coalition member events to comment, link and share
#SMMStandards
smmstandards.org